Featured front and center were an all-male panel of witnesses from the Catholic church, the Lutheran Church, a Jewish Rabbi, and a Southern Baptist ethics professor, among others, all of whom seemed to object to being required to pay for contraceptives.  Each man present said they felt that the requirement went too far and trampled on their religious beliefs.

If I were the Committee Chair, this would have been a VERY SHORT hearing:

Gentlemen, by a show of hands, please indicate if you have suffered from:

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?   (no)

Endometriosis? (no)

Amenorrhea (no)

Have you ever suffered from the pain & discomfort of Heavy Menstrual Cramps? (didn’t think so)

What about PMS from HELL? (no)

Gentlemen, you are not qualified witnesses.  Please kindly show yourselves out.

THE RAW STORY REPORTED:

Female Democrats on Thursday walked out of a House GOP committee hearing on contraceptive coverage after the only female witness requested to speak during the first of two hearings was rejected by the committee chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).

Reports from inside the hearing noted that some of the female Democrats left the room, and one member, Rep. Holmes Norton (D-DC), called the committee an “autocratic regime.”

Huffington Post reported:

Democrats say they tried to invite another witness — a young woman — to testify, but were blocked by Republicans.

Issa said at the hearing that he rejected the Democrats’ female witness, Sandra Fluke, because, as a Georgetown University law student who “appears to have become energized over this issue,” she was “not appropriate or qualified.” He said that in lieu of allowing her to speak at the hearing, he instructed his staff to post a video online of Fluke speaking at a previous press conference.

“I think this is a shameful exercise,” Connolly said, accusing the witnesses of “willingly” participating in political “demagogery” in an election year.

And, for the record, Contraceptives are not just for preventing ‘unwanted’ pregnancies:

What kinds of medical conditions can be helped with birth control pills?

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): is a hormonal imbalance which causes irregular menstrual periods, acne, and excess hair growth. Birth control pills work by lowering certain hormone levels to regulate menstrual periods. When hormone levels are decreased to normal, acne and hair growth often improve.

Endometriosis: Most girls with endometriosis have cramps or pelvic pain during their menstrual cycle. Birth control pills are often prescribed to treat endometriosis and work by temporarily preventing periods. When hormonal treatment is prescribed continuously, young women will rarely have periods, or not at all. Since periods can cause pain for young women with endometriosis, stopping periods will usually improve cramps and pelvic pain.

Lack of periods (“amenorrhea”) from low weight, stress, excessive exercise, or damage to the ovaries from radiation or chemotherapy: With any of these conditions, the hormone “estrogen” is not made in normal amounts by the body. Birth control pills may be prescribed to replace estrogen, which helps to regulate the menstrual cycle. For girls whose menstrual periods are irregular (too few – or not at all), birth control pills can help to regulate the menstrual cycle to every 28 days and provide the body with normal amounts of estrogen. Normal estrogen levels are important for healthy bones.

Menstrual Cramps: When over-the-counter medications don’t help with severe cramps, birth control pills may be the solution because they prevent ovulation and lighten periods.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): Symptoms of PMS such as mood swings, breast soreness, and bloating, along with acne can occur up to 2 weeks before a young women’s period. Birth control pills may be prescribed to stop ovulation and keep hormone levels balanced. Symptoms may improve, particularly when oral contraceptive pills are prescribed continuously.

Heavy Menstrual Periods: Birth control pills can reduce the amount and length of menstrual bleeding.

Acne: For moderate to severe acne, which over-the-counter and prescription medications haven’t cured, birth control pills may be prescribed. The hormones in the Pill can help stop acne from forming. Be patient though, since it takes several months for birth control pills to work.

Other Medical Benefits:

Because there is less menstrual bleeding when taking birth control pills, you are less likely to get anemia (low number of red blood cells, which carry oxygen from the lungs to the tissues). Birth control pills lower your chance of getting endometrial (lining of the uterus) cancer, ovarian cancer, and ovarian cysts.

Suffice it to say that if any of the men pictured above, or any man on the planet had to endure any of the painful side effects of the above-mentioned disorders/diseases, we would NOT BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BOOBIES…(And, punishing poor women for political gain!)

Komen has arrived on the front lines, in the War on the POOR.  (Hey, if Mitt Romney, the Radical Republicans, and the Tea Partiers  don’t care about the poor, then why should Komen… ) {SARCASM INTENDED & APPLIED}

Yes.  The legendary Susan G. Komen Foundation, known for its fundraising efforts in the fight against cancer said that it would be withdrawing grants given to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings.  Who does this hurt?  Women at or below the poverty level.

Komen, really.  We looked the other way when we found out that your CEO rakes in almost a ½ million dollar a year salary-But when you cave to political pressure in spite of the lives it will cost, we draw the goddamn line!

33 MILLION WOMEN visit Planned Parenthood each year.   76% of 33 MILLION are at or below the poverty level.

Fun facts about Komen and the Far, Far RIGHT….

Congressional Republicans being the Far Right’s willing foot soldiers in its war on women, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) launched an inquiry to determine whether Planned Parenthood uses public money to fund abortions. Planned Parenthood receives federal money but cannot use it to  provide abortions. The malicious and farcical inquiry is based on the ongoing smear campaign against Planned Parenthood by Religious  Right activists,  but Komen is using this as its excuse to stop funding Planned Parenthood’s critical work — citing a new policy about not supporting organizations  under congressional investigation.

The right-wing pressure leading to Komen’s decision   also came from within the organization. Last year, Komen hired as its new  vice president of public policy Karen Handel, an anti-choice former  secretary of state and Republican candidate for governor in Georgia. During her failed primary bid, Handel vowed to cut off any state-allocated funds to Planned Parenthood and was one of Sarah Palin’s infamous “Mama Grizzly”  endorsed candidates. Indeed, the bio on Handel’s Twitter  account reads “Lifelong Conservative Republican formerly Georgia’s first Republican Secretary of State,” giving an indication of her priorities.

It’s now being reported  that Komen’s top public health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest immediately following the Komen board’s decision to cut off Planned Parenthood in December.

In another apparent nod to anti-choice activists, Komen has also quietly stopped funding potentially life-saving stem cell      research, showing that its mission to find “a cure” takes a back seat to its desire to please social conservatives.

Komen’s board includes Jane Abraham, the General Chairman of the anti-choice Susan B. Anthony List (SBA). SBA constantly  spreads false information about federal government funding of abortion and  public health and medical evidence surrounding safe abortion care. Abrams  is also closely tied with the Nurturing Network, which exists for the sole purpose of convincing women that abortions cause a range of unrelated  health problems, like  promoting the mythical link between abortions and breast cancer.   Jodi Jacobson at RH  Reality Check rightly asks, “Can you trust  a breast cancer organization whose staff and board members lie about  breast cancer?”

The GOOD NEWS?  Planned Parenthood donations have surged.  Let’s keep the momentum going: Donate Now.

More about Komen’s decision:

Daily KOS

Open Secrets

Talking Points Memo

Alter Net: Breasts Yes, Vaginas No?

Komen Faces Backlash After Pulling Planned Parenthood Funds

Komen Foundation In Contortions Over Justifying Planned Parenthood Decision